Thursday 7 August 2014 01.44 EDT
First published on Thursday 7 August 2014 00.43 EDT

Foreign victims of domestic violence and human trafficking who are under 30 could have to wait six months to receive government assistance in Australia, according to the bills introducing the government’s welfare changes.

Meanwhile, exemptions to prevent vulnerable groups of people being kicked off income support for months at a time are not being enshrined in law.

The two social security bills which contain a slew of changes to the welfare system do not contain specific exemptions for single parents or other groups in laws to take away income support away from people under 30 for six months at a time.

Nor do they legislate for people to get reductions on the initial six-month waiting period for Newstart or Youth Allowance if they have been in full-time work.

Instead, those points would be up to the minister of the day, who could change who was exempt, or have no exemptions at all, using a legislative instrument.

The National Welfare Rights Network (NWRN) has accused the government of giving too much power to the minister in the rush to draft the bills instead of going through the complex process of properly legislating their proposed schemes.

The government was forced to back away from a proposal to exclude sex workers from reductions in the waiting time for the dole on Thursday after the Australian reported their work was not being defined as “gainful employment”.

The NWRN criticised most of the bills’ measures in a 31-page submission to the community affairs legislation committee, which is examining the bills. In his explanatory memorandum for the bill the social services minister, Kevin Andrews, nominates work that involves nudity and sex work as not being eligible for getting reductions on waiting periods for Newstart.

The NWRN accused the government of allowing “moral judgments” to enter the Social Security Act.

“If the work is lawful and gainful, then it should reduce the waiting period,” the submission said. “This debate should not about whether or not this is condoning such work (the law does that elsewhere, it is legal after all). Rather, it is about equity. A person who has engaged in lawful, gainful work should not be disadvantaged by the nature of the work.”

The minister’s office did not return calls or emails from Guardian Australia on Thursday morning but had told the Australian by the afternoon sex work would qualify as “gainful employment”.

The NWRN is opposed to the use of waiting periods at all and challenged the government to try to have discussions with the public about applying the same waiting periods to the age and veterans pensions if it was so devoted to the policy.

Victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking with visas in Australia could also face a six-month wait for government assistance as the special benefit is being included with Newstart and Youth Allowance as subject to the proposed laws.

NWRN said about 5,000 people accessed the Special Benefit each year, and though the majority were older than 30, there were still some people, mostly women, who would be affected. Trafficking victims who hold a permanent witness protection visa and victims of domestic violence with a temporary spouse visa were the common claimants.

NWRN said some would be exempt from the waiting period as primary carers of children and the minister could decide to exempt trafficking victims. “However, a question of fairness and policy rationale arises,” the submission said.

A 25-year-old woman who migrated on a temporary spouse 309 visa to live with her Australian partner and was assaulted by him, and who then moved into a refuge, would have to wait six months for the Special Benefit under the proposed changes, NWRN said. Such a person is currently not eligible for any other benefit.

The NWRN also cited a 19-year-old Chinese woman trafficked into Australia and forced to work in a brothel as an example of someone who would have to wait six months for government assistance if the police raided it and she was granted a permanent witness protection visa.

The NWRN said the use of the legislative instrument, which leaves most exemptions up to the minister of the day instead of enshrined in law, was “inappropriate” and fundamental parts of the proposals were being left up to the minister.

“Over recent years, there has been an increased use of delegated legislation via legislative instrument in the Social Security Act. There is a place for such instruments where there is a need for flexibility to respond to rapidly changing circumstances,” the submission said.

NWRN said the provisions for the instrument in the bill were part of the critical architecture of the proposals and did not require flexibility.

“It would seem likely that they are there because of the haste with which these measures were introduced and because the drafting will require careful drafting due to the complex interactions it will have throughout the act,” the submission said. “This necessarily takes time and requires careful consultation with all the departments responsible for policy and administration of the scheme. If haste is the reason that such matters have been left to the minister, this schedule should be withdrawn, properly drafted and brought once again before parliament.”

Provisions in the bills also could mean a person would have to spend all their savings before the waiting period for income support would even start.

“The overarching problem with these bills is that rather than addressing the problems of inadequacy of income support, and the need for real incentives and support into work, many of the measures will exacerbate inadequacy, increase disincentives to work, [and] undermine the current and proposed supports for jobseekers,” the submission said.

NWRN supported the government’s proposal to remove access to the seniors supplement for those with incomes too high to receive the age pension and the inclusion of untaxed superannuation in the assessment for the commonwealth seniors.